KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition force conducting a dismounted patrol discovered an insurgent weapon factory in Sangin District, Helmand province, Monday.
The combined force discovered a building that contained six 55-pound barrels of homemade explosives, scales, a boiler room and a drying room. After cataloguing and taking pictures of the weapons materials, the force determined the best way to destroy the materials was to conduct a precision artillery strike.
The Afghan and coalition forces verified no civilians were in the area and cordoned off a safety zone approximately 300 meters from the factory. The forces maintained control of the area until three rockets hit the factory, destroying it and its contents in place.